I, Pencil

I, Pencil is a great story of economics. Looking at a simple item every school kid knows, the author describes the intricate working of the market place that allows a pencil to exist. The point is made that no one person could make a pencil - the efforts of many, many people across the world, working in a co-ordinated manner not dictated by anything except enlightened self-interest, are necessary to gather all the raw materials and put them into a workable form.

This is easy for even grade-school aged children to understand, and it will give them a foundation for understanding market forces.

This link takes you to a download of this marvelous audio book presentation. This link takes you to a written version, with an introduction by Dr. Milton Friedman (who used this essay in an episode of Free to Choose).